Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Virtual Book Tour: The Partisan's Wife

First, let me apologize for not having posted since Friday, but we lost our power Friday night and only got it back today. I'm sorry for the two groups I was supposed to post for this weekend that I didn't make it, and also to my guest, author Kathy Fischer-Brown, who has graciously allowed me to post today instead. Also, I've not forgotten my blog hops, I'll announce the winners later this week. Kathy has answered my infamous Rick Reed questions and is going to talk about her new release, The Partisan's Wife. She will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a random commenter during her tour. See the Rafflecopter at the end of the post? The more you comment, the better chance you have. For more chances to comment, go here.

The Questions

1)You’re
marooned on a small island with one person and one item of your choice—who is
that person and what item do you have?

First of all, I’d be totally miserable
regardless of whom I choose to be with and with only one item to take

along. I’d
probably end up doing myself in. But if this scenario is only for a short
duration, I could probably make do with a notebook (the spiral –bound kind). If I
can’t have a pencil or pen, I’d have to make one (don’t ask how), but first I’d
need to fashion some sort of cutting/scraping tool) and then find some berries
to squeeze and use for ink. (I’m too squeamish to use my own blood). As for the
person I’d have with me… He/she would have to be someone who can build us a
shelter, provide entertainment, conversation, inspiration, and back rubs, as
well as go fishing, clamming, climbing the palm trees (there are palm trees, I
hope) to gather coconuts. This person could very well be my husband, but I
don’t want him climbing anything. Last time he tried to prune a tree, he fell
off the ladder and ended up in the hospital. Can’t have us both too badly
injured before help arrives.

2)Which
musical would you say best exemplifies your life – and which character in that
musical are you?

Without question. “You’re a Good Man,
Charlie Brown.” I’m Snoopy.

3)Take
these three words and give me a 100 word or less scenario using them: ceiling, baffling, thanks

He clung like a fly to the high ceiling
above the chandeliers, baffling the dinner guests, who gaped up in wonder, vichyssoise dribbling down their chins. Thanks to the
specially made adhesive, they were blind to his ploy. He had them now.

4)You’ve
just been let loose in the world of fiction, with permission to do anyone you
want. Who do you fuck first and why?

To be honest, I can’t think of a soul. I’m
getting too old with too many missing parts to pull it off with any success.

5)What
is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other?

Candlelight dinner at a great restaurant
with a string quartet in the background. Then home for a movie and a

bowl of
popcorn before my hubby falls asleep.

6)When
you start a new story, do you begin with a character, or a plot?

Usually a little of both. When I begin, I
have a vague idea of what it’s about and who the characters are. As they
develop and begin speaking to me, the characters invariably influence where the
story goes. I usually don’t get a good grip on the characters until they are
happy with their names … which is another subject entirely.

7)Who’s
your favorite horror villain and why?

I’m not a fan of the genre, so I’m sorry to
say I have nothing to base an answer on.

8)Do
you have an historical crush and if so, who is it?

I wouldn’t call it a crush, but I’ve always
had a deep fascination with Benedict Arnold. For a guy whose name has become
synonymous with treason, he was a complex and interesting man, whose entire
life filters down to his one dastardly deed. Prior to betraying his country, he
was a hero of the American Revolution and was much admired and respected by the
men who served under him and by his fellow officers. He was also a trusted friend
of George Washington, so much that he was given the command of West Point. As a
Connecticut resident, I often wonder how different the little corner of our
state that was his birthplace would have been. Driving through New London and
Norwich on I-95, I can’t help imagining the Benedict Arnold Rest Stop, complete
with a souvenir shop, Subway, and McDonalds.

9)If
they were to make the story of your life into a movie, who should play you?

My life is too boring for the movie-going
public. I’d much rather see my books made into movies or mini-series. But if
Hollywood called, I wouldn’t refuse. As to who would play me, I’d like it to be
multiple actors and actresses…kind of like in the Bob Dylan “I’m Not There.”

10)Is
there a story that you’d like to tell but you think the world isn’t ready to
receive it?

The world has received stories and
books much riskier and more outré than anything I’d ever dream up, so I’d have
to say no. But I won’t let that keep me from writing.

Thanks so much for hosting me today.

THE PARTISAN’S WIFE

by Kathy
Fischer-Brown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Faced
with an impossible choice, Anne Marlowe is torn between her husband’s love and
the hope of her father’s forgiveness. As American forces follow up on their
tide-turning victories over the British at Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights,
Peter is drawn deeper into the shady network of espionage that could cost them
both their lives.

Is his commitment to “the Cause” stronger than his hard-won love for Anne? Will
her sacrifice tear them apart again...this time forever? Or will they find the
peace and happiness they both seek in a new beginning?

The Partisan’s Wife follows Anne and Peter through the war torn landscape of
Revolutionary War America, from the Battle of Saratoga to British-occupied New
York and Philadelphia, and beyond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

Tony eyed her closely and whispered. “What if I were to give
you my word of honor that I will not force you to compromise your wedding
vows?”

“Do I have another choice?”

He smiled and shrugged. “You could go back inside.” By the
downward cast of her eyes, her resolve faltered. “Either those red coated
brutes will eat you alive, or Gerda will have your head on a platter.” He
looked back anxiously at the light in the window. “Of course, you could stay
here and freeze to death…. It’s up to you. I have no desire to tarry.”

“You were cheating, weren’t you?”

“Hardly the time to be self-righteous.”

“I need to know.”

“Are you coming or not?”

“I thought it was on my account that you….” She hesitated.

“You would have liked that, wouldn’t you, princess?” He
raised his brow. “A sorry display of chivalry! I merely forgot myself.” He
limped past her through the alley. “I’m going. I’ve neither the time nor the
stomach for this insanity.”

“Wait!” She started after him, then stopped when he turned.
“I’m sorry you were hurt. But I….”

He regarded her with irritation, then spoke quickly,
accenting his words with a dramatic flourish of his hand. “I am going to bed.”
She winced. “You may come or you may stay. You’re free to do as you please.
It’s well past curfew. If you had an ounce of sense, you’d do well not to stand
there, shivering like an idiot, dressed only in your scruples.” He tore off his
coat. “Here…put this on. Your state of holy wedlock won’t keep you warm on this
night.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a child, Kathy wanted to be a writer when she grew up. She also wanted to act. After
receiving an MFA in Acting and playing the part of a starving young artist in New
York, she taught theater classes at a small college in the Mid-West before
returning home to the East Coast where, over the years, she and her husband
raised two kids and an assortment of dogs. During stints in advertising,
children’s media publishing, and education reform in the former Soviet Union,
she wrote whenever she could. Her love of early American history has its roots
in family vacations up and down the East Coast, visiting old forts and
battlefields and places such as Williamsburg, Mystic Sea Port, and Sturbridge
Village. At the same time, she daydreamed in history classes, imagining the
everyday people behind all the dates and conflicts and how they lived.

Claiming her
best ideas are born of dreams, Kathy has written a number of stories over the
years. Her first published novel, Winter Fire, a 1998 Golden Heart finalist in
historical romance, was reissued in 2010 by Books We Love, Ltd.

When not
writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, photography, playing “ball” with the
dogs, and rooting on her favorite sports teams.

Thanks Shannon. Actually, at this point in the story, he has confusing emotions about her (and he is not her husband). Tony is an interesting character who hides his true nature behind the facade of cad, gambler, and womanizer. But who is he really...and can he rise above his cynicism?